AUSTIN — A special driver's license or personal identification card making it easier for U.S. citizens to cross the Texas-Mexico border wouldn't violate federal law, provided it was approved by the secretary of homeland security, Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled Tuesday.

Such a license also would have to meet certain technological requirements, such as being machine readable and tamper-proof.

A provision for a so-called "enhanced" driver's license or personal ID certificate for border crossings was part of a homeland security law enacted by the Texas Legislature last spring.

The Department of Public Safety asked Abbott whether the document would comply with federal passport laws. DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange said the agency was still reviewing Abbott's opinion, and she wasn't sure when the special licenses may be available.

Mange said the agency may add the border IDs to an overhaul of the entire driver's licensing program, which already is under way. She said all licenses are being redesigned and some changes may be phased in as early as this year.

The new state law limits the special licenses to people who can provide "proof of U.S. citizenship, identity and state residency." It also requires biometric identifiers of applicants and other security and encryption measures.

"Enough delay. Let's get on with the program," said Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, who sponsored the border ID provision. He said the new cards were essential to moving Americans across the border faster.

"We on the border are paralyzed," he said. "There are four- and six-hour waits (at ports of entry) now."

An estimated 1 million Texas citizens may apply for the special licenses, which would cost less than passports, Shapleigh said.